Is Luis Palau A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? Why
Are Roman Catholic Priests Permitted To Hear Confessions, and Distribute
Rosary Beads At His Crusades? [UPDATED]

Luis Palau has been working hand
in hand with the Roman Catholic Church, at his evangelistic crusades,
for decades now. In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Luis
Palau spoke very highly about his friend Jorge Bergoglio, better known as the Catholic Pope Francis. In that interview with Christianity Today he described Pope Francis as a “very Bible centered man”
and a red flag went up in my spirit. I speak as a former Roman
Catholic, who is very well aware of the demonic and false teachings of
the Roman Catholic church. Before the Luis Palau crusade in Omaha,
Nebraska in 2007, the Palau crusade workers sought out the Roman
Catholic church to become involved with them. The Palau event organizers
even welcomed the idea of the Catholic Priests hearing confessions at
that event, and were open to the possibility of having a “Catholic tent” set up to explain the Catholic faith! Here is an excerpt from that article by Erik Raymond:

This weekend an interesting article appeared in The Catholic Voice (CV),
a Catholic based Omaha newspaper. The article outlined the admittedly
strange partnership between the Omaha Catholic Diocese and the Luis
Palau organizers. Archbishop Elden Francis Curtis endorsed the event,
this following a meeting between local priests who had spent time with
leaders within Palau’s organization.

According to CV, “Father Ryan Lewis, vice chancellor and ecumenical officer for the archdiocese, said local organizers approached the archdiocese about including Catholics at the event, which has never been endorsed by a bishop until now. The festival organizers were open to Catholic input, he said.”

This is interesting. The organizers of the event approached Roman Catholics about participation?

Father Ryan Lewis continues, “They said they would do whatever they needed to do to formulate this festival in such a way that Catholics could participate.”

How much participation are we looking at here? In other words, how Catholic will Palau let this ‘evangelistic’ crusade go?

According to CV, “As of now, festival planners have welcomed the idea of allowing local archdiocesan priests to hear confessions at the event, as well as the possibility of having a Catholic tent that would provide information on the Catholic faith.” [Luis Palau's Partnership with Roman Catholics at the Omaha Crusade, from The Ordinary Pastor, by Erik Raymond, May 29, 2007]

If that was not enough, I found out that the Roman Catholic
Archbishop spoke at that event, and that Catholic Rosary Beads were also
handed out at that event!

“Palau’s
July 2007 Festival in Omaha, Nebraska, was endorsed by Catholic
Archbishop Elden Curtiss. Not only did the Catholic archbishop address
the crowd personally, but the Catholics were allowed to put up a tent at
the entrance to the venue to distribute rosaries and Catholic material
and priests greeted the people as they entered the crusade grounds
(Catholic Voice, Archdiocese of Omaha, Aug. 10, 2007). Each participant
filled out a card indicating religions background, and all of the cards stating Catholic were given to the Catholic churches for follow up (Catholic Voice, June 8, 2007). [Way of Life Literature, Luis Palau and Rome, May 1, 2013, by David Cloud]

The Luis Palau crusades operate in a
similar fashion to the Billy Graham crusades who have been working hand
in hand with Rome for many decades. Is it not incredible that they were
giving out rosary beads at a so called Christian Evangelistic event? The
Roman Catholics who made a “decision” were then sent back to their Roman Catholic churches!

Do you think that you heard it all yet?
Sorry but you need to read about Peter Smagacz who was a one man
protest at the Luis Palau event, who was escorted OFF the grounds of
that same event!

Peter Smagacz is 58 years old and glad to have left the Roman Catholic Church.
He left it 35 years ago. I read an article sent to me that was
published on Omaha’s daily newspaper, the Omaha World Herald, that described Smagacz’ one-man “protest” at a Luis Palau “Heartland Festival” in Omaha.
The event was said to have attracted 105,000 visitors, a record. I
suppose, hyperbole being what it is, the crowd was likely half that
size, but still large.

Palau is known
among Bible believers to be “soft on Romanism,” and far too ecumenical
to be Biblically sound. Many of us consider that ministries like Palau’s
yoke themselves with unbelievers, contrary to Bible principles set
forth in 2 Corinthians 6:14, and Revelation 18:4. The more skeptical
among us – call us jaded – know that men like Palau don’t become
prominent in this country without somehow accepting that Roman Catholics
are essentially Christian.

Smagacz
passed out a tract and his personal testimony. That, along with his
sign that read, “Why I left the Catholic Church,” was his “protest.” He said for the most part he was well received. He was harassed by a Roman Catholic priest,
but that fellow was made to stop. Most people gladly received his offer
of his literature, but some Catholics cared to argue with him about
John 6, perhaps the only Scripture a Roman Catholic takes literally,
concerning eating the Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood.

Organizers of the Palau event had Smagacz moved off the event grounds. These same organizers arranged for a large Roman Catholic tent on the premises where RC
literature was freely passed out, rosaries handed out (or sold, I do
not know which), and Roman Catholic (RC) priests were “hearing
confessions” throughout both days. The tent with confessions being heard was a requirement by the RCO locally in order to gain their “support.”

Eldon Curtiss,
the archbishop of the Omaha Roman Catholic Archdiocese, was invited to
open – or close – the “festival” in prayer. [biblestudy.net July 25,
2007 by John Malone]

That
my dear friends is the blatant evidence of modern day APOSTASY! Is it
not incredible that a man that got genuinely SAVED by the power of the
TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ, was escorted OFF the grounds of Luis
Palau’s crusade! That should put a red flag up in your spirit IF you are
a true born again believer in Jesus Christ. The FALSE Church of Rome
was permitted to hand out their literature, and Rosary beads, while Pete
Smagacz along with his TRUE Christian testimony was asked to leave. To
be honest with you, that is what happened in the book of Acts, when
people such as the Jewish apostle Paul preached the true gospel. Paul
was persecuted because he did not DANCE with the wolves anymore, and he
paid a severe price for his biblical stand. Compare the absolute
wicked compromise of the Luis Palau organizers, with the bold
evangelistic witness of the late Keith Green. Here is an excerpt from
his classic Catholic Chronicles:

“It is obvious
by even this brief glimpse into the doctrines of mortal and venial sins,
confession, penance, and purgatory, that the Roman Catholic Church has
constructed one of the most unbiblical doctrinal systems that has ever
been considered “Christian”. The fear, anguish, and religious bondage
that such a system of “reward and punishment” creates, has tormented
millions of lives for centuries, and continues to prey on those who are
ignorant of the biblical way of salvation.

To merely call
such a system “a cult”, would be to throw it into the vast category of
religions and quasi-religions that are currently making the rounds of
our college campuses and city streets, snatching up many an unsuspecting
youth. No, the Roman Church is not a cult. It’s an empire!

With its own
ruler, its own laws, and its own subjects! The empire has no borders, it
encompasses the globe with its eye on every person who does not vow
allegiance. It calls the members of other faiths “separated brethren”
(The term used by Vatican II to describe the members of Eastern
Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches.) and has as its goal the
eventual bringing together of everyone under its flag.

I know that many
will not be convinced or moved by this article (or any of the others)
to make such a conclusion. They are impressed by what they’ve heard
about recent stirrings among the Catholics in the “charismatic renewal”.
Many evangelicals (especially Charismatics) have been thrilled by the
reports of Catholics speaking in tongues, dancing in the Spirit, having
nights of joy and praise, even attending “charismatic masses”.

Mouths that used
to speak out boldly against the Church of Rome have been quieted by the
times. It no longer is in vogue to speak of the pope as “the
antichrist” (Although the following people unhesitatingly did: Martin
Luther, John Bunyan, John Huss, John Wycliffe, John Calvin, William
Tyndale, John Knox, Thomas Bacon, John Wesley, Samuel Cooper, John
Cotton, and Jonathan Edwards.) or the Catholic Church as the “whore of
Babylon”. Now Protestants unwittingly believe that “our differences are
not so great”. Ah, that is just what She needs us to think!

I’ve never
completely understood why God led me to write these articles. But it
becomes more clear with each day of study, and each page of research.
Never has something so black and wicked, gotten away with appearing so
holy and mysteriously beautiful . . . for so long!” (Keith Green-The
Catholic Chronicles)

Here is what another bold witness by the name of Leonard Ravenhill said in his book, “Why Revival Tarries”

“Evangelists
today are wide-eyed to the might of Communism, but tight lipped at the
menace of Romanism. America would shake from coast to coast in
twenty-four hours if some preacher, anointed with the Holy Ghost, gave
the Roman Catholic Church a broadside! We stir national interest against
the cruel, half-civilized Mau Mau (wicked enough), but powwow with, and
pander to, the Roman Catholic Church! These priests who dope mens
souls, these idolatrous “masses,” these Calvary eclipsing prayers to
Mary, these miserable millions cheated in life and in death by the
greatest forgery Lucifer ever made.” (Why Revival Tarries by Leonard
Ravenhill, Bethany House Publishers, 1988, Copyright 1959)

But though we,
or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before,
so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than
that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)